-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- When night falls over Rwanda , many rural communities far removed from the country 's electricity grid descend into darkness .

Unplugged from the power lines , households in these areas rely mainly on fuel-based devices such as kerosene lamps for access to light . Such lanterns , however , are polluting and costly : They emit toxic fumes , pose fire hazards and also put a strain on family budgets .

But recently , an innovative solution has emerged to offer affordable and efficient electricity to low-income households while benefiting the communities by providing jobs to local populations .

Called POWERcycle , Nuru Energy says it has developed `` the world 's first commercially available pedal generator '' -- a foot or hand-powered device that can recharge up to five modular light emitting diode -LRB- LED -RRB- lamps in approximately 20 minutes , as well as power mobile phones and radios .

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The company says each of its portable LED lamps provides one week of light to a rural household . It also claims that its products are more affordable and reliable than other forms of off-grid offerings that have been developed in recent years , including solar lamps or home solar lighting systems .

`` We looked around and said , well , what is the one energy resource that 's untapped in this environment ? And human power really came to mind , '' says Sameer Hajee , chief executive and co-founder of Nuru Energy .

`` We thought , well , if we can harness human energy in a way that we can create economic opportunity and low-power electricity , would n't that be a game changing solution ? ''

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According to Lighting Africa , a joint World Bank - IFC program developed to increase access to clean sources of energy for lighting , 589 million people in the continent live without access to a public electricity facility .

The group says African poor rural households and small businesses pay $ 10 billion per year for lighting purposes , while communities not connected to the grid spend $ 4.4 billion annually on kerosene .

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Looking to address the issue of energy poverty , Hajee , a social entrepreneur with a lot of experience in international development , spent more than a month in Rwanda in 2008 , trying to figure out what were the energy needs of the country 's off-grid population .

What he found out was `` actually quite basic -LSB- energy needs -RSB- , '' he says . `` It 's light , it 's cooking , it 's mobile phone recharging and radio . ''

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With help from the World Bank , Hajee co-founded Nuru Energy and in 2009 the company started testing its products in the field .

Hajee quickly realized , however , that innovative technology was not enough for the project to be successful in a place like rural Rwanda . His company also needed to adopt a creative approach in the distribution front .

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`` We could n't just sell product -- we had to actually get involved in the value chain downstream , '' he says . `` We thought , well , if the generator can recharge five lights so quickly , could this not be the basis of a recharging business for a local entrepreneur ? ''

As a result , the company decided not to sell its products directly to customers . Instead , it set up a network of village-level entrepreneurs who are responsible for marketing , selling , and recharging the lights .

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Hajee says this unique model of distribution has revolutionized the lives of both micro-entrepreneurs and customers .

`` If you look at this from the standpoint of the customer , '' says Hajee , `` they would purchase the light for $ 6 and then they would pay about 20 U.S. cents per week for lighting . This is compared to about $ 2 a week that they would spend on kerosene before . So it 's 10 times cheaper solution for them .

`` From the entrepreneur 's perspective , in 20 minutes of pedaling , they 're recharging five lights , earning about $ 1 -- any of us that work in Africa know that that 's much more than people make in an entire day . So it 's a huge value proposition for the customer and for the entrepreneur . ''

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Hajee notes that this model can easily be emulated across rural Africa . He says that Nuru Energy , which currently focuses on East Africa and India , has already been approached by a number of potential joint venture partners to roll out the project in other parts of the continent .

`` I really hope that what we 're providing here is a stopgap solution to the immediate energy needs of ... rural populations , '' says Hajee . `` What I would really hope is that , you know , there 's certainly effort needed in providing grid quality electricity to these populations . It 'll take some time . ''

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589 million people in Africa live without access to a public electricity facility

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Nuru Energy has created a pedal generator that allows light and mobile phone recharging

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The company says its products are more affordable and reliable than other energy solutions

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It has set up a network of micro entrepreneurs who sell and recharge the lights